I urge you to strip the H-2B and H-2A guest worker expansions from the DHS appropriations bill. Last month the leisure and hospitality sector lost 61,000 jobs amid weak seasonal hiring, and labor force participation fell to its lowest level in more than four years.

These are the industries that lobby for guest workers, and young Americans looking for entry-level work are being shut out. Congress should not answer by importing more foreign guest workers to compete for the same jobs, especially when those jobs are declining.

The DHS bill would allow a near-doubling of H-2B seasonal visas and extend the uncapped H-2A program to year-round jobs it was never meant to cover. None of this belongs in a homeland security bill. American workers — especially the young and less-experienced workers these programs displace — deserve first chance at these jobs. Please remove the H-2B and H-2A expansions before this bill receives a final vote.

Greg Raven, Apple Valley, CA

Sent to:
Jay Obernolte